Queen Bee Knits

Knitting, Living, Loving, Baking, Tips, Tools and Idle Chatter

Musselburgh and WIPs

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

We got up early this morning and spent a good two hours watching the lake. Highlighted by the baby loon and his/her parent feeding right in front of the house. The lake was totally smooth for a time. And it was so quiet. A breath of fresh air after a busy summer and a busy Labor Day weekend.

I spent a chunk of it making a sample for the store. I chose a Yarn Snob Worsted weight wool in the Times Square colorway. Mostly because we have no samples of Yarn Snob knitted up. And, being worsted weight, it was going to knit up more quickly.

This hat pattern is wonderful!!! I’ve made one before but I had to remind myself how to do the pinhole or Emily Ocker’s magic cast on and I knew that i particularly liked Jen Arnall-Culliford’s method which is simple and doesn’t require a crochet hook. Just a pair of DPNs. (Ultimately you need a set of 4 or 5.) I really liked the Yarn Snob yarn and this hat will be a modern sample for the shop in an unexpected yarn. I made the toddler size because that is what the yardage allowed for. I loved that the colorway was named after a NYC landmark that happens to be in the heart of the theater district and my kiddos are all employed in the arts in New York City. So a nod to Times Square added a smile to my face. When the winter sets in, I’ll reclaim the hat for my granddaughter.

I spent the past couple of days working on my Vanilla Sweater by Corrine at The Wooly Thistle. I may have said this before but the color is what I fell in love with and I “had” to buy the kit. as happens with almost every simple pattern I attempt, I am struggling to read my knitting – it’s either the light in my atelier or my aging eyes or both combined with the heathery yarn but I can’t see the increases well enough so I’ve been thinking back and reknitting now and again. But I’m getting there and am almost to the end of the increases. I am up to over 300 stitches around so the rounds take a minute. I’m knitting on gauge so I will be excited to see how it fits.

I’ve also been working away on one of the critters in Louise Crowther’s book Animal Friends. I bought the yarn a few months back for three of these animals and I’m beginning with Noah the horse. It will be a gift for my daughter who loves horses. It’s fun to knit but a little bit hard on my hands because it’s knit at a tight gauge in teeny needles. So the stuffing doesn’t show through the stitches, of course! I’m making good progress. Two legs to go and the outfit and I can sew it all together.

I had nearly completed the garter stitch section of my All About the Ruffle shawl. Over 350 stitches on the needle. and I just didn’t love it. So, today I frogged it and it’ll be something else, probably a tee shirt. So boo and yay. Boo that I frogged all that work but yay that it’ll be something that I will love.

I was gifted and also grew some giant zucchini and I’ve been trying to use it up before we leave for vacation. I’ve got some chocolate zucchini muffins in the freezer with a loaf of zucchini n bread. Today I made banana zucchini muffins. Hubby seems to think they’re all for him. Ahead of vacation? Yeah, right. He’s been informed.

If I can’t get it all baked before we leave, it’ll go into the freezer all shredded and portioned into 2 cup bags. I have a lot of frozen bananas, too. I’ve not been baking enough apparently.

We are enjoying the last days or weeks with hummingbirds before they head south. I haven’t seen any male hummers recently and they had off ahead of the female and juvenile birds. So the rest will be heading off soon. We will keep the feeders full for those passing by for a few weeks.

The garden is still giving us food. I picked the first Delicata squash. There are more coming. Tomatoes are coming along too. Peas are still growing and we hope we get fruit before the first frost. I picked most of the lettuces because they were about the bolt. Our garlic is dried and cleaned and ready to store away and use. We need to grow more again next year.

I’ll be taking my Murmuration socks on vacation with my Vanilla sweater and some “purple sparkly” Encore worsted for mittens for my granddaughter and a blue bulky pullover (pattern by Knitting Pure and Simple) in superwash wool. I’ve got two grands to knit for now. Best get going on the tiny knits!

Gone knitting.

Saturday – Peace on the porch and a little knitting.

Posted on August 30, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I have had a lovely, peaceful morning with my coffee and yarn on the porch. I got up without an alarm, took the dog out, fed the dog and took my coffee out to the porch. It was pretty gray and we even had a little sprinkle of rain. Since then, I went up to my atelier for my yarn and I’ve been sitting here drinking my coffee and knitting and listening to the sounds of the lake. The sounds of home. Hummingbirds chasing each other away from the feeder, ducks quacking by, the train passing heading south, and the splash of an osprey right in front of our boathouse (coming up with empty talons.) And now the sun is coming out and the bees are buzzing in the cat mint.

I’m working on my Vanilla Sweater by Corrine at the Wooly Thistle in Rauma Garn Finull. I fell in love with the color of this yarn and had to buy it. No regrets here. This is a wooly Norwegian wool and I can already feel it softening up as I work it. I’m struggling to see my stitches though with the heathery wool and I’ve had to go back several times when I increased where I should not have. My attention span seems to be challenged right now. Lots going on, hubby away, boss away, the world on fire and I may even need a better light by my knitting chair.

Musselburgh in Yarn Snob “Times Square” colorway

At work we have decided we need some more contemporary samples. I said I’d knit a Musselburgh hat and brought home a hank of fingering weight Yarn Snob yarn with neon pops of color. And then I thought about all the things I have going on and brought it back. I chose, instead, a hank of worsted weight yarn snob. There was enough yardage to make a toddler hat and the. I looked at the name of the colorway and that clinched it. I’m knitting this for a sample and then when it gets colder I’m taking it for Sylvie to wear in the city.

I always have to remember how to cast on with the Emily Ocher’s cast on but I found a Jen Arnal-Culliford turirial and got it done. Yesterday, this hat was a good thing to work on while I was teaching and I made some good progress.

The crown Emma’s some random pooling and now it seems to be striping. It’s all good and it’ll be done soon enough.

I’ve also been working on my shawl, All About The Ruffles. I’m nearly to the full stitch count on the garter stitch section. I wish I had figured out how dull the garter stitch section would be and skipped this project. I sure hope the ruffle section makes it worth while. the “Harbor” colorway in Emma’s Yarn Practically Perfect Sock is lovely and this year is really lovely to work with. I’ve not taken any pictures because a garter stitch triangle is not very exciting but there will be some coming.

I snuck in a Knitting for Olive yarn order before they stopped shipping to the USA. I’ll be knitting one of their designs, too, for the first time. The Wilson sweater has a Henley feel without the buttons and with a collar. I need a black sweater and I think this one is classic and can be worn with our without something underneath. I’m really going to have to invest in a better light to knit with black yarn. (I also have some black linen to knit a sleeveless top with. I love black clothes, I cannot lie.

My SISC continues with Murmuration. Another pattern from the Sock Project book by Summer Lee. I may have already posted this photo but I repost it because there is a mistake here and the photo pointed it out. I’ve since frogged it back and added another (third) eyelet round to the third lace pattern. Good grief. My brain! My focus is definitely struggling with all that’s going on in the world. I am looking forward to our Rhode Island vacation next week and am planning to tune out and turn off social media for a few days to see if that helps my brain to focus. It’s all good in the end but good grief, I’m supposed to be an “expert” and a knitting teacher. I get frustrated with myself when I make such rookie mistakes!

I picked three cherry tomatoes and my first Delicata squash today from the garden. they say that Delicatas are ready to pick when they have stripes and you can’t easily break the skin with pressure from your fingernail. This one is there. I think I’ll have to cook it for supper tonight to see how it tastes. I also have cups (and cups) of shredded zucchini to use and will get it grayed, freeze some of it and bake with some of it. Plan is to make some zucchini bread, some chocolate zucchini bread and maybe a chocolate zucchini cake to take with us to the beach. Yum. We still have e some tomatoes on the vines and a few more delicatas coming along. Lettuces and kale are going to be picked today for salad with my supper.

I guess I’d best get myself moving. I have a bank deposit to make for the store before noon and then I can drop off the banking stuff at the store. The boss is back Monday and I no longer have the responsibility of banking. I had a bowl of granola this morning so I may stop for ice cream on my way home for lunch. More knitting will be worked into my afternoon.

Gone knitting.

Sunday Funday!

Posted on August 10, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

It was a beautiful morning today and it’s going to be another hot one. In fact, the whole week looks like it’ll be hot and the lake association is warning boaters that the lake is very low (all the dams up stream are closed) and without rain, we are going to be having quite a drought. We are watering our vegetable garden (with a soaking hose) but it’s concerning when you’re on a well. We will be very careful with our water until we get a good drenching rain. If you follow @QueenBeeKnits on social media, you’ll also see my hummingbird video. The little imps are very fun to watch over our morning coffee (or all day long.)

I’ve made my way up to my atelier to write a post and to find my knitting … today I’m going to have a day where I do only what I want to do. No “shoulds” allowed. I have a very busy two weeks ahead and I need to take the time to let my body and mind rest up ahead of the craziness and from all the wonderful time we’ve had with our guests over the last several weeks, too.

I’ve been knitting! Last weekend I started my commission cardigan for a client in Louisiana. Yesterday when my dear hubby and I were at the third annual Silent Film Festival (our first time attending) I got to the third button hole. I believe I’m about half way up the body of the cardigan. This yarn is Virginia Fingering from Urban Girl Yarns and it’s lovely to work with and I love the colorway. The pattern is a simple, classic cardigan by OGE Knitwear designs called Sorrento Cardigan. So far, the pattern and yarn are playing nicely together. I don’t anticipate any problems going forward.

I’ve also resurrected my All About the Ruffles Shawl from the bottom of my knitting bag. I haven’t worked on this for several weeks and it needed some attention. I’ve made it to 100 stitches on each side of the middle/spine stitch and have several more repeats to go before I get to the required stitch count and the fun part – the ruffle. It’s pleasant knitting for later in the day and when I’m watching TV with the hubby. I do love the yarn, Emma’s Practically Perfect in the Harbor colorway. It’s a lovely deep blue-green and I think this shawl will be really fun to wear in the fall. I will get it done!

Yesterday I also worked on my August SISC (Self-Imposed Sock Club) socks for a bit, too. I’m working my way down toward the toe of the first sock and I have to knit seven inches for it to be the right length before I begin the toe decreases. This pattern asks for an afterthought heel (see the marker) which will be added after the toe is finished (and maybe after the second sock is knitted as well.) I love the color of this yarn and I was recalling that Franklin Habit had knitted a pair of socks in just this yarn and added a little cross-stitched bee to the ankle with some fabric that goes away after adding water. I may be thinking about adding a bee to at least one of my socks if I can find the fabric to stitch over.

I finished knitting my Big Love Cardigan in Berroco Pima 100 cotton yarn and gave it a soak in my usual sink and blocked it on my cutting mat like I’ve done for every other garment that I’ve knitted in several years. BUT this time, there was a color problem and my sweater ended up with all sorts of weird spots of discoloration. I was concerned that it was going to be ruined. BUT I bought it into work on Friday and sewed in all the ends and decided that I’d wash it in my washing machine as the yarn band tells you to do and I’m so happy to report that the sweater is perfect. I blocked it the second time, flat on my cutting mat with a towel underneath. Phew! I am going to fix a few ends that have popped through the fabric, add my label and it’s ready to wear if we ever have a cool night again. (I know we will soon enough.)

I have also pulled out the caftan for Dolores from the bottom of my knitting bag. I’ve finished the main part of the garment and really should focus on finishing the other parts and putting it together. It’s such a gaudy garment and Dolores is going to rock it, totally. I will knit the head wrap, too, because she needs it to finish the look. I still have a couple more outfits to complete and think that she needs a clothing rack to display her outfits. (My husband is going to kick me right out of the house if he sees this. LOL)

Around the house things are growing and happy for the sunshine and heat. The hydrangeas all around the yard are thriving. Yesterday I watched some little birds by the shore of the lake for quite some time. It’s what we do in the morning. When our kids were here, my granddaughter and I planted some pea seeds in our garden and they’re growing! I’m tickled to see the plants popping up through the dirt and they’re starting to be tall enough to train to grow up the chicken wire we’ve installed. When we have peas we’ll send some to her in New York City (although she told me in her little 2-and-a-half-year-old voice that she planted pea seeds in her home in New York City with her grandma and they’re growing, too. I love her imagination and seeing her little brain working and growing, too.)

I moved my African Violets from the living room dry sink where I have traditionally kept them because they weren’t looking so good. They were droopy and sad looking. Now they’re gorgeous! Tons of flowers and the leaves look healthy and happy. We all need a change of venue now and again so we can continue to thrive, don’t we? The rest of the house plants are also doing well. I have a giant pathos plant that is gloriously healthy and keeps growing across the living room floor. If you need some baby pathos plants, let me know. LOL

And last but not least, I got some new earrings in the mail yesterday. I ordered them from Jennifer at Bur Oak Studios and I am even happier with them now knowing that she’s a one-woman woman-owned business and she’s in New England (Vermont)! I don’t often put my face out there in the world but I had to take a selfie to show you my new earrings. I love them and they’re so light I don’t even know they’re there! Thanks, Jennifer. Jennifer is coming to the SPA in Freeport, Maine this winter (February) and I am looking forward to going down to Freeport and meeting her and I’ll just have to buy more earrings!

This is me! 67 and as happy as I’ve ever been.

Gone knitting.

I’d love to give credit to the artist for this image …. but I don’t know who it is. Any thoughts?

Anker’s Summer Shirt – FO

Posted on July 9, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I went outside to take a photo of me in my new FO – Anker’s Summer Shirt by Petite Knits – when I had a lovely call from our resident loons and then Mrs. Hummingbird flew by to have a sip at the feeder. Two of my favorites in one photo. (Sorry the loons are too far away to show up.) The loons have a new chick swimming with them and they’ll often leave the chick and go off and fish for food with one parent staying closer by, often returning to feed the chick. I love watching them and look forward to when the chick accompanies the parents up in front of our house.

I’ve officially finished my Anker’s Summer Shirt and am giving it a dress rehearsal at book club today. I am really pleased overall with the fit of this top. It’s not oversized but it has some positive ease and I got the length just right. I also like the length of the sleeves which I lengthened a bit from the pattern directions. I made the XXL size which was to have a finished measurement of 47.25 inches which would give it a couple of inches of ease and it came out pretty close to perfect. I love the yarn, it’s soft but has enough body so that it won’t “grow” as I wear it.

Zooey by Juniper Moon Farm is a cotton and linen blend, DK weight yarn. I have another sweater, a cardigan, made in this yarn and I like it a lot. I think I may like my Anker’s Summer Shirt even more. Mostly, I love the color but I think it’s a good style for me to wear with my white jeans. I used just over 3 balls of the yarn.

I wore it to my summer book club today and got lots of compliments. It’s very satisfying but it’s also satisfying to know that I made my own clothes.

Tonight the loons are out singing to a full moon. We had a chance to watch the new little family later today – one adult was fishing out in front of the house and then the second adult and the chick on its back came over. They hung out in front of our boat house for quite some time but eventually gave us a concert right in front of the house. Both adults were fishing, leaving the baby who can’t dive yet, to “fend for itself”. Now I’ll have to “worry” about my new baby until it grows up and leaves the lake in the early winter. Mother Nature is a most incredible artist!

Gone knitting.

Monday Monday!

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m taking the time to blog today because we’ve been busy getting projects done and the sun came out! Today it was beautiful and sunny and the lake was calm for coffee on the porch. My mullein plant is getting really big and soon (maybe tomorrow) I’m going to pick a leaf or two to make a tincture. Mullein is supposed to be good for the respiratory system and anybody who knows me knows that my respiratory system is challenged by allergies and a chronic allergic cough.

This morning I cut the garlic scapes! And then I ran out to do a couple of errands and made a stop at the store to help with getting ready for the Maine Yarn Cruise to begin. Tickets for drawings, stamp and ink for the passports, a QR code for the digital guests, and just plain remembering what we need to have tomorrow. This is the 8th year and, woo doggies, it’s another challenge. The boss insists on water and snacks and free books which all sounds great until there is a crowd around the register and all the pieces need to be done which adds to the regular craziness that is a family business. It’ll be “fun” they said. Ha! Ha!

When I got home I started making some of the food I have been craving … lobsters were on sale yesterday so I had Hannaford steam two for me and I made lobster salad for lunch and while I was chopping celery for lobster salad, I chopped some for potato salad. Summer and potato salad just go together. My mom always added onion, hard boiled eggs, and mayo and mustard and a few spices. It’s in the fridge all ready for dinner. I also chopped a bunch of veggies for Ratatouille which will be ready for dinner, too. Yummm!

This weekend we bought veggie plants for our raised beds and the compost to amend the soil. The compost was added yesterday and tomorrow I’ll put the plants in when it’s a bit cooler in the morning. BUT I did get the flowers into the window box and the front porch pot and I also got two of my lemon trees (started from seeds) re-potted and settled in the dooryard for the summer months. I just have to give them a good trim to shape them up a bit.

We bought a pair of Adirondack chairs for our afternoons outside. We often have a good stiff breeze off the lake in the afternoon so we sit around back to get some calm. These chairs and the table that will go between them will be so comfortable after a busy day. I’m quite pleased with the way the dooryard is shaping up. I’d love to have a flagstone patio built next with a path to the garage when it gets built. So many projects!

And I have been knitting, too. I finished three dishcloths for our kitchen and put them in the rotation already. They’re quite cheery. I also have been working on Delores’s caftan outfit and yesterday I made it to the second shoulder. It’s a different way to build a caftan but it works. It does make me giggle when I think of knitting for a sheep (and a stuffed one at that.) She makes me happy. I’ve also made some good progress on my Big Love cardigan. I’m well into the button band decreases and pretty soon I will have the body done. The pattern makes a cropped cardigan and I think I’ll make mine a little bit longer than cropped. I’m not sure of cropped garments on me … my Bolin cardigan is cropped and I think I’ll have to be particular about what I wear it with but rest assured that there will be no midriff showing on this girl.

And last but not least, my hubby has been working away to create a gate on the end of our porch to keep little ones, both two-legged and four, safely on the porch. The lake is so close and kids move so quickly, I think this will make it possible for Sylvie to have some freedom this summer when they’re here. She will, of course, be reminded over and over, to stay off the dock and out of the water when she’s not with an adult, too. One can never be too careful around water. Hubby’s guest cottage bathroom project is almost complete, too. The new shower stall is built, the floor is in and the holes in the porch and the porch screens have been repaired. He’s working on the screen door now. Soon, we will get it all cleaned up and buy a bed for it and then it’ll be available for friends and family to use when they come to Maine. I think we’ll be putting it up on AirBnB or one of those apps next year as a weekend rental. See how it goes.

I’ve got a zoom meeting to attend so I’m off. Gone knitting.

Another Rainy Saturday with “Nothing” to Do

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

We had coffee on the porch again this morning. It wasn’t a gorgeous morning but we appreciate any time we get to spend out there in the peace and quiet. No loud boats full of tourists from away and not even any fishermen this morning. And then it started to drizzle as it has done on the weekend for what seems like every single weekend since the snow melted. (I’m sure it hasn’t been every one but, geez!, it sure feels like it!)

I’ve been straight out this week and it made the time pass very quickly. I am home this weekend with a very long list of to-dos and I hope to reclaim some time to really focus on getting some of my knitting projects over their humps … most of my WIPs are in a place where I need to pay attention and I’ve been too tired at the end of the day this week.

SO, I’ve paid quite a bit of attention to my Jelly Roll blanket. I’ve managed to start another column of knitting and that makes me, most likely, about half-way finished with the project. I still have a ton of bits and bobs of fingering weight sock yarns so I guess this either has to be much larger than I really wanted it to be or I need to stop knitting socks. We all know that the latter won’t happen so I will have to find more sock yarn scrappy projects to use up all the yarn I’ve collected over the years. It’s not the prettiest blanket to be sure but it’s going to be useful and warm for someone. AND, bonus, I think it’s going to be washable on cold/gentle setting.

And I’ve finished Dolores and her shawl (I haven’t knitted her hat yet, but I may … or may not) and she’s been sitting on my extra chair in my atelier with a whole lot of attitude demanding that I make her some new clothes. So, I started her first outfit from a kit that I bought in “ahem” 2017 or 2018. It’s designed by Franklin Habit and it’s hilariously sparkly silver and purple and it will become a dress, if my understanding is correct. I’ve gotten to the short rows at the bottom of the underskirt which I need to pay attention to so I don’t make mistakes. It’s a hoot.

I think this will be what I pick up first today.

I started a pair of socks the other day for some “brainless” knitting. I can knit this pattern with two hands tied behind my back. The yarn was given to me so I have no idea what it is other than to report that it’s lovely and soft. I think they’ll be for my middle daughter who likes my hand knit socks and will take care of them and she likes darker colors. The colorway is glorious despite being dark. It reminds me of cathedral windows or stained glass in many ways. Don’t ask me why. I am in the process of knitting the heel flap on the first sock and am close to turning the heel.

I’ve got to pick up the pink mittens again, too. AND my Big Love cardigan. I need to get some major time with the Big Love so that I can bring it to work with me and work on it while I teach.

This week I finished a second Love and Light and hung it up in our granddaughter’s little sleeping nook. It’s plenty of light for her room and it dims to 20% when she’s sleeping. We haven’t made any progress with the mattress support. That’s next and then I can make her bed. Love and Light is a quick and fun project knitted with fairy lights and big DPNs. It’s a hot mess until you’re finished and stretch the wires out ever so gently teasing them into shape. I love making them.

I also cast on my All About the Ruffle Shawl yesterday. I have two (and one on hold just in case) hanks of Emma’s Practically Perfect Sock yarn in a dark teal colorway called Harbor. I cast on and it’s perfectly boring with a ton of garter stitch and increases on the right side. I am going to be increasing for ages until I get to somewhere around 400 stitches if memory serves and then the magic begins.

On the home front, we ordered a dining room chandelier this week. Our dining room table has been in the dark for over a year since we took down the heavy beam light that my hubby designed and we decided after almost 10 years that we didn’t love it and then we couldn’t find anything we both loved. The new lamp is more his choice than mine but I am tired of looking and wanted to get it checked off my list of to-dos. Now he has to move the box and install the light. Maybe tomorrow.

I did a deep clean in our room the other day. Moved all the furniture and vacuumed up umpteen spidery webs. Now if I could just figure out how to wash the windows over our bed without having to go outside with a ladder. I know I won’t survive the climb up the ladder … on the dirt … on the hill … by the creek … there must be an easier way, right? We are in the process of finding a new bed for us and moving our bed to the guest room and the guest room bed to the guest cottage that we are going to rent out when it’s done. The bathroom is being updated/cleaned up/refreshed and then it needs a good cleaning and a kitchenette and we’ll be ready to go. (By then it’ll be too cold to rent until next summer.) We also have to paint the outside of the building. Hmm. Anybody know a reasonable painter?

Gone knitting.

WIP Wednesday

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s a beautiful blue bird day here on the lake today. I have had a slow morning, a late wake-up after a middle of the night interruption by the smoke detector battery at 3:30am. I’ve been on meds for my sinus infection for 24 hours and hope to feel like a new woman by tomorrow. (No worries, right?)

I’ve been working away bit by bit on my Jelly Roll Blanket and yesterday came across a very pleasing combination of colors. I tried to take a photograph of them but it’s not coming out very true so you’ll have to just trust me. When I can knit outdoors again, maybe I can get a really good photo. Ha! I still have a basket and more of bits and bobs of fingering weight yarn scraps so I am planning to keep going. Maybe I’m half-way there? I knew this was going to be a long-term project.

I’ve picked up and am just finished grafting the seam on the headband I’m making for one of my daughter’s friends who is like another one of my kids. He’s an avid runner, even in the winter in New York City. For Christmas, I made Sheldon a pair of fingerless mitts for running in his signature shade of blue. I had an extra skein of the yarn and offered to make him a headband or hat. I decided on Petite Knits’ Weekend Headband which is a 1×1 rib, cast on with live stitches so that they can be grafted at the end. I made a mistake at the point of the cast on without realizing it until I was ready to graft in 1×1 rib and realized I had live stitches from the cast on that were all knit stitches. Hmm. What’s a knitter to do? I certainly wasn’t going to frog and begin again. So, my answer was to knit a round of stitches and graft them in regular Kitchener stitch. While the graft doesn’t look bad, it would look MUCH better in rib but since it’ll be on the inside of the headband, I think it’s passable. The headband is soaking now and will be blocked and sent off. I made the smaller size because he doesn’t have a big head. I hope it’ll work. I still have more yarn, just in case.

Meanwhile, my daughter has also asked for a new headband so once I’ve finished another project on the needles, I’ll have to find a pattern for hers. AND finish her sister’s fingerless mitts. Since I’ve been under the weather, I haven’t had the headspace to work on them.

My Winter’s Finery shawl has taken some backwards steps. I thought I had finished the lace through the last chart row and something didn’t line up. I frogged a few rows to see if I could fix it and just kept needing to go back again. So, finally, I decided just to go back to the start of the lace and start over and this time I won’t knit the lace while watching the final few episodes of Outlander. (If you haven’t watched Outlander, you’re really missing something quite wonderful. Part time-travel, part love story, part historical fiction, I have really enjoyed it.)

I started my “Bang Out a Sweater” sweater on January 31 and then it stalled. Seems I have all of my US 6 needles out in projects somewhere. I’m not sure how that could be but it seems to be true. SO … it’s sitting and waiting for me to finish my Winter’s Finery shawl or get the store for work tomorrow and buy an extra needle (or two). I can’t believe I have no US 6 needles that will work for this sweater. I will work on the shawl today … and if I can get close to 11 rows of lace knitted, I’ll finish the shawl first. If I don’t, I’ll buy new needles. Don’t tell my husband. Ha!

I have a sweater’s worth of so many yarns in my atelier. A rust-colored organic merino, a navy blue worsted wool, sport weight grey (with a red for some contrast/pattern), and an orange felted tweed and complimentary orange lace weight silk mohair. What do you think of an orange cardigan? I’m not getting a lot of knitting done this week because I don’t feel well, but I may have to cast on another something … the two hats for my client, the headband for my daughter. Something that doesn’t take too much headspace.

Gone knitting.

WIP Wednesday

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

My amaryllis is in full bloom this morning as it has been for a few days. I’ve been ignoring it despite its beauty and it probably needs water. I’ll get there, I promise. BUT it’s a glorious sunny day today and I don’t have a meeting until 2 so I thought I’d take a few minutes to write about WIPs (Works In Process, Muffin). I have several and a couple of FOs, too.

I’ve finished a couple of projects and one has been sent off already. I finished the pink sparkly blanket for my granddaughter’s baby, Baby. She requested the color and the “spahkly” and what kind of a grandmother would I be if I didn’t knit what she really wants?! Ha! Ha! The blanket should arrive on Friday and I hope I get to see her open it. Thank the heavens for FaceTime!

I have also finished knitting two tams for a long-time customer, Judy. I think I’ve knitted twenty of these tams for Judy over the years. The pattern is no longer available on Ravelry (not sure why, but I had to reach out to the designer for a copy as I’d cleaned out my paper patterns in favor of electronic copies on Ravelry. Thankfully, she was kind enough to email me a copy.) Anywho … the hat is the Quick Lacy Slouch hat knit, this time, in Berroco Vintage Chunky. One black and one a dark navy blue. They’re drying as I write after wet blocking.

The little red square is a sample for the store for our Valentine’s knit kit. We will have a crochet kit, too, but I am not a confident crocheter so one of our other “girls” has made the sample. I’ll put them together this week at work. Tomorrow.

Last, but not least, my daughter sent me a stocking that was made for her ex-husband and I’ve removed his name from the stocking and some evening soon I’ll be adding her dog’s name to the stocking so she can still use it. This was a kit by Accessories Unlimited.

Not really knitting but I also finished a puzzle this week. I was sent this for Christmas and while I don’t get the gaming part of the puzzle, it was a challenge to make and has an extra bonus – when you finish the puzzle you switch the three sections around and there’s an extra section to build. It was fun and I got a sticker that says …

OK, it’s WIP time.

I’ve got a Hoodola on the needles. Using stashed yarn by Berroco, a discontinued yarn, Inca Gold. It’s a DK weight combination of merino and silk so it’s really wear-it-next-to-the-skin soft. I didn’t swatch for it so I hope I have enough to cover my huge noggin. I do have a skein or two of a dark green if I need it for the cowl or the cinch. It’s a very clever design with an applied icord edge and a seamless cast on that starts at the top of the crown of the head, if that makes sense. I missed one of the decreases on one side so I’ll have to remember to add an extra decrease at the end to make the stitch count right.

I still have a pair of Christmas socks on the needles. I’ve finished one sock and have begun the second … working my way down the leg of the sock. This is my go-to project if I am walking on my walking pad or in a meeting because I really don’t have to look at it for the most part.

My other WIP is my New Year’s cast on which is Winter’s Finery by Rosemary Hill (Designs by Romi). I love her shawls and this is a special skein from when I went to Knit City in Montreal and the dyer is a friend of a friend. The colorway is perfect for this shawl. You’ll see!

Other WIPs that I haven’t really done anything with for a while are as follows:

Honestly, the only ones I really should count are the ones I plan to knit and that’s the first two. The pink mittens I bought the kit for the embroidery at Knit City and I’m not enjoying the embroidery … it’s way too fiddly. BUT I’ve gotten too far to go backwards, I think, so I’ll finish the embroidery on this one and will likely NOT embroider the second mitten. I do want to wear these because the color is lovely. (I don’t really NEED a new pair of mittens, but …) Second is the gift bag that I am knitting as a swatch for a class that I took in Shetland colorwork and color choices, in particular for that style of knitting. I loved the class but I haven’t begun to make progress on the project. I really need to pick it up … but the holidays weren’t a time when I had the head space for stitch counting. Now I think I’m ready.

I’m going to frog (rip it, rip it!) the next two. One is the sweater I wanted to knit in a 3T size for my granddaughter for next winter. I’ve adjusted the needle size and the sweater is coming out too small so I will frog it and work on it later in the year. I have the same yarn in pink, too. AND I’m going to frog what little I’ve done on the Three Season Cardigan that I started ages ago. I love the yarn but it’s a bugger to frog. Regardless, it’s been sitting on the needles for too long and I fear for my tension. Frog I must.

In the queue are a couple more (mind you, these are all in project bags around my atelier and they’re starting to bug me. So I have to make some tough decisions. All wound up and ready to start is a Cardoon by Isabell Kraemer in two shades of purple. If I would just cast this on and get through the yoke, it’d be a quick knit. Alas, I haven’t. Next is a new idea, Bang out a Sweater month is February so I found this great orange (ginger colorway?) yarn and I want to bang out a Bolin cardigan by Norah Gaughan which I will cast on on January 31. I will finish it in February. I will! Next up is a pair of fingerless mitts to replace my daughter’s favorite pair, Chivalry Mitts which have a “L heart T” on the gusset. The T is gone now and she needs a new pair for her new life wherever that leads. She’s doing really well and I’m so proud of her. These are a priority. The yarn is currently sitting on my desk. Next, I have yarn for a hat or headband for my daughter’s friend, Sheldon. I made him mitts for his early morning runs for Christmas and he’d like a hat. He’s a very knit-worthy person (and he “stole” the socks I knitted as a wedding gift for his husband when they divorced because Sheldon loves his hand-knit socks.) On my windowsill is yarn I pulled out of my stash to make a gnome. I’ve bought the pattern and it won’t take long but it hasn’t been a priority so it still sits on the windowsill. AND not pictured is Doris. She’s hidden away in my cabinet, mostly finished and just not put together. Poor Doris. One day, Sylvie will love to have her to play with and I think Doris will like being played with. She’s naughty like that. Doris, that is.

Gone knitting.

Snow Machines have quilted the ice-scape – out my atelier window this morning

‘Tis the Season …

Posted on January 12, 2025 by Queen Bee Knits

It’s a gloriously sunny Sunday here on the lake and we’re watching the lake and shaking our heads. Today we have lots of vehicles on the lake … yes, I mean vehicles – cars and trucks. The ice can’t be much more than six inches thick. If it was up to me there would only be snow machines and ATVs but when the first car drove by recently, I decided it was time to post about my morning and this crazy activity. Ice fishing is a sport that I don’t have any interest in. Never have, never will. A day out in the cold, drinking beer and doing “crazy” things like driving your $30,000 vehicle on the ice is outrageous in my humble opinion. Lucky nobody asks me.

I’m about to take my knitting and see if I can walk on my new walking pad for ten minutes while I knit. My goal is to work up to 30 minutes a day for now. That’s a lot more than I’ve been doing. And I have to ask my daughter what kind of standing desk she has because there are a lot of them out there with mixed reviews. I’ll be buying one pretty soon so I can write and walk, too. (Lucky there’s a “seat belt” that stops the machine when you’re about to fall off. Ha! Ha!)

I’ve got the last load of laundry in the washer, I’ve washed a shawl that I wore last week that had something sticky on it, I’ve ordered my new coat from LL Bean and I’ve written the store newsletter and caught up on adding new contacts. I’d fallen way behind.

It snowed lightly all day yesterday and (the royal) we has shoveled and gone out for the NY TImes Sunday paper so he’s happily ensconced downstairs while I’m up in my atelier. I think today I’ll work on Baby’s blanket because it’s just about half done and it’s a quick knit. Next will be mitts for daughter #2 who has been wearing her favorite ones I made her that had her ex-husband’s initial on them. It’s time to get rid of them and get something new. She’s chosen her pattern and I bought the yarn.

I’ve got an order for two tams from a customer who contacts me every couple of years. I went looking for my pattern yesterday and it’s not available on Ravelry any longer and, of course, I’ve cleaned out all my paper patterns because I had them on Ravelry. I sure hope more designers don’t take their patterns off Ravelry … I’ll be furious because I thought, even if it was a free pattern, that I’d have them safely in my library. Not so. Luckily the designer responded to my message and she’s going to have someone email me a copy. Phew. I’ll get those on the needles soon so I can get them out of my queue.

So, for now, the ice fishermen are at it again. So much for our peace and quiet on the lake. Luckily they’re not in our front yard … yet.

Gone knitting (and walking.)

A Case of the Mondays on Tuesday

Posted on December 17, 2024 by Queen Bee Knits

I’m having a case of the Mondays. The only problem is that it’s Tuesday! We woke up this morning to rain and since 6am EST the ice that covered the lake has broken up and disappeared. It looks like any spring or summer day here now. It’s amazing how quickly the new ice can disappear. And it’s a little sad if I’m honest. We really should have ice by now.

I’m slowly managing to get all of the Christmas shopping, wrapping, sending, etc. done. I mailed the three packages that I was responsible for yesterday on my way back from the store. I went in to help my colleague cut some netting for a customer and we took the time to restock the netting, too. When we are only one person in the store, it’s unsettling to spend time down in the basement restocking or gathering together an order for a customer because we can’t see or hear if anybody comes into the shop. We were going to get this done on Saturday when there were two of us in the shop but we had a different mess to straighten up (see my last post!)

I made a new batch of granola this morning for the women I work with. I may need to make a second batch this afternoon because I’m not sure this will be enough to fill all of the jars. It’s down to the wire and I hope I have enough oatmeal left in my canister! I really am “off” if my baking cabinet isn’t properly stocked.

We had our Covid-19 booster and flu vaccine on Sunday and yesterday I started out just fine but I crashed in the early afternoon. I couldn’t even knit. This is what happens every time I get the shots. BUT I am glad we’re protected going into the holidays. The rest of the day is “free” which means I have time to vacuum my atelier and to double-check my lists. Tomorrow is going to be my last day for shopping and I don’t think I have enough to fill my dear hubby’s stocking.

#112 Children’s Bulky Top Down Pullover in Cascade 128

I’ve been thinking of ways to use up some of my stash and this was, I thought, an easy one. I have three hanks of Cascade 128 in this pretty almost periwinkle blue and I thought I’d make a larger sweater for my granddaughter. BUT when I knit the pattern according to the instructions, I didn’t like the fabric. It was too open. So I frogged back and started again on a US10 needle (seen here) and while I like the fabric better, the gauge is way off so the size is one that will fit her now – and she doesn’t need any more sweaters right now. SO … back to the drawing board. I am going to do this the right way next time and actually knit a swatch. I don’t often knit with bulky weight yarn so I’m not sure of my gauge and I need to figure out what the largest size I can make – I am aiming for a 3-5 year size – in a fabric that I like. I think I’ll try a US10 1/2 and see how the gauge matches up. On the US10 I got 3 stitches to the inch and the 4-5 size should be 28″ around the chest. Mine is more like 19 1/2 … not even the 26″ that the 2-3 size should be. Doing the math, I don’t think I can get 28″ even if I knit the largest size so I need to try a bigger needle. Good grief!

I also found a bulky hood pattern with a fur edge around the face opening. I can just see my little granddaughter in it so I’d like to make a hood that will match but, again, at a larger size so she can wear it next year or the year after. I’m going to have the same issue, I think.

I’ve not felt like doing any other knitting, and particularly not knitting that takes brain power. The projects that I have in progress are the fair isle bag from the class that I took, and a couple of pairs of socks. I really want to cast on a new project but I “should” knit a couple of sweaters to reduce my stash but I am not feeling motivated to do any of them. What’s a knitter to do?! I would also think about knitting a new shawl or another Musselburgh hat … but I can’t decide on yarn. Ha! Ha! So, I’ve been working on my Jelly Roll blanket and the watermelon shorties … both really simple projects. No pressure, right?

I haven’t shared with you that I had the red bump on my right eyelid removed a week and a half ago. It’s gotten larger over the years and, who knew!? We have an eyelid surgeon in Waterville, Maine. My eye doctor referred me to him and he’s surgically removed it. I think it was larger than he expected and he had to make two sutures. It’s never as simple as they say it’s going to be. So, day 1 and 2 it looked great. Day 3 I started to see red “bruising” around the edge of my eyelid. A week after the surgery black was added to the “pretty colors” and now it’s just a rainbow with some of the color collecting at the outside corner of my eye. BUT the bump is gone and the bruising will go away. It’s been an adventure waking up in the morning to see what color it would be. All kidding aside, I’m so grateful that it’s gone and there was no pain at all, and no infection. I hope you’re not squeamish because I’m going to share photos with you. Today the color is fading and maybe I’ll be back to “normal” for Christmas!

Today I think I may decide to knit a gnome or a little Arne & Carlos mini jumper without a number so it can be used as an ornament for a customer/friend. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Gone knitting.